Suit of Keys

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58 posts. Alias of Trinam.




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So for an upcoming game I'm thinking of making, one of the world's major plot points is that it's actually a sort of magical creation of a sufficiently powerful wizard. Like if The Sims could make a fantasy world full of fully cognizant personalities and souls.

After this secret got out, sufficiently talented scoundrels found ways to turn this to their advantage, which necessitates some kind of new 10-level prestige class, I figure. Basically, they're accessing the magical debug console of the universe and making tiny changes in order to give themselves advantages.

I'm looking for good ideas to refine this idea from base 'OKAY SO--' and move it into advanced 'THIS AND THIS AND THIS' type ideas. Here's what I have so far for the class:

Prerequisites:
Sleight of Hand 6 ranks (You're typing in midair with one hand while fighting, you have to be precise)
Access to Detect Magic (Basic magical vision stuff, seemed right)
Feats: ?? Maybe ??
Special: Must own a specialized interface device worth no less than 1000 GP (this is used as the hacking conduit)

I know I want a d8 hit die. They're not a spellcaster class and don't advance casters, but they don't feel like a typical fighter--going with rogue for this.

I know that the first level power lets you activate the console to get arcane sight for a certain number of rounds/day, and that this lets you try searching for the object id of creatures you're looking at via some sort of check vs their DC. At later levels, the arcane sight eventually becomes permanent, and can be turned on/off at will. (Maybe just add more rounds? Hm.) You also get the first level ability to do a knowledge check automatically as a move action on any creature whose object id you've found, with a result equal to 13+ your hit dice+ your int mod. In effect, you're calling their debug data.

On even levels, I want to do an options-based thing where you can get a variety of techniques. Each of them takes either a move or a standard action based on what they do. Some ideas I have:
-Call up a 5 foot cube of rock to take up a square (move action)
-next spell you cast gets +1 to its DC (move action)
-one object id'd opponent gets a -2 to its next attack/save/check (pick one) (no save) (standard action)
-you get a +2 to your next attack/save/check (pick one) (move action)
-add temporary hp?
-deal damage?
-get sneak attack vs enemy you've object id'd
-delete sections of floor/change parts of floor into difficult terrain
-teleporting things around on the battlefield (id'd Enemies WOULD get a save on this one, that's just too much otherwise)

I really want more options to mess with the actual battlefield, since calling objects into the field or altering it via debug commands seems really interesting. I do think that most of these should only last for a limited number of rounds before vanishing again, since the world eventually realizes that it's having limited glitches in an area.

At 3rd level, you begin subtly tweaking your own information, and your efforts give you a +1 luck bonus on all attack rolls.

At 5th level, further tweaks give a +1 luck bonus on all saves and skill checks.

At 7th level, all your techniques get one step faster. Move becomes swift, standard becomes move, and swift (if any) becomes immediate.

At 9th level, you get a +2 inherent bonus to all physical scores.

At 10th level, you get :an ultimate technique:. Dunno what it is yet, maybe some kind of contingency ability that let's you have an IF>THEN command for a prechosen ability? Or it could be something that lets you extend the duration of your changes, perhaps making them permanent instead of on a limited timer?

This is a lot of ideas, and I'm open to anything cool that would fit with the theme and make something cohesive.


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Step 1: build a longhouse dead center.
Step 2: build barracks all around it, each one gives +1’stability for being adjacent to a longhouse
Step 3: build walls
Step 4: build a watchtower.

You now have +5 overall stability, if you have 4 rax and a tower. That gives you a lot more early game wiggle room. You can do this in other settlements you build, too, if you need the extra cushion. The key is to not let it fall below 0, because that’s what triggers the endless cycle of failure... and stability is otherwise very hard to farm in the early parts of chapter 2.


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So in book 1 on my Unchained Rogue file, I was going through the story. I left Valerie and Jaethal with the annoying evil gnome due to my choices, and went on my way as normal. I went through normally, picking up first Valerie from the first meeting with evil gnome, then the guy from the temple of erastil. Finally, I went to deal with the mites and kobolds, went neutral to the both of them, and explored. I found Jaethal in a cage, let her out, and went about my business.

The bug was that I couldn't add her back to my party later when I went back to Oleg's. She didn't join my party at all.

Instead, I got a second Amiri.

Don't get me wrong, I am the *last* person to argue for fewer barbarians, but this was a weird glitch. It seems like it's cleared up with the start of chapter 2, but it was. weird. has this happened to anyone else?


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So. This happened.

It turns out that the looming release of the first major pathfinder-based video game has caused our favorite chaotic-neutral-madman-on-a-dire-bat to want to livestream the game in question. Good times. I'm letting him borrow my channel to do it, which can be found at twitch.tv/tqwgaming. Since he's chaotic, I don't have an exact time that he'd be starting, but if you follow and get notifications from the channel, you'll be able to get a heads-up when things go live. If not, there's also VoDs. I don't think he knows how to sunder those.

I hope he doesn't know how to sunder those.

I'm also thinking about just throwing them up on youtube afterwards, though that requires a little editing and I am very bad about getting any actual editing done.

Anyways, I'm looking forward(?) to having a break while AM does his thing, and I hope you guys have some fun watching him see if his insane martial prowess somehow applies to the gaming world as well. Also I'm pretty sure he's going to roll a Barbarian, so it's a good chance to see how they work alongside the generated party members.

Anyways, that's all from me. I hope to see you guys there on September 25th!

P.S.
Does anyone know where I can find a new windshield for a Toyota at this time of year, preferably on the cheap? My insurance has told me that they don't cover acts of god, which leaves me up a creek without a paddle.


So my Iron Gods group, consisting of an android cleric of Pharasma, a kitsune oracle, a dwarven ranger, a human conjurer wizard, and a catboy psychic, are... shall we say, 'eccentric.' They've sort of run slipshod over the entire campaign so far, with exploits including:

-Capturing Meyanda after a protracted android grease-wrestling session, and making her their new friend
-Getting stabbed by Sanvil Tret, only to throw him in a cell in torch
-Ruining all of Hellion's plans, then cornering him, then making him flee without managing to catch him
-Losing a character to Seerath, only to throw her in a cell in torch, alongside Sanvil Tret. They burned a res here.

Today, they met Furkas Xoud in the Choking Tower. He showed up, pouring out of the schematics on the first floor in the literal third room the group went into, and was like HELLO THERE, THE HECK YOU DOIN HERE?

So then our psychic proceeded to use his ability that let his mind affecting abilities work on undead, and cast Charm Person on the ghost, using his Persistent metamagic to make him have to save twice.

Aaaaaaand he failed, because one of the rolls was a 4. So Furkas Xoud is the party's good buddy for 8 hours.

The party is going through and accomplishing their main objective of learning about Casandalee right now while Furkas himself is going around and giving them a proper tour while finding the stuff needed to disable his traps and let them down into his dungeon to get things done. They've avoided making him angry, and have gotten him to clear out a good number of the random monsters. (since they were no threat to him and 'you wouldn't want your good buddies getting hurt') At this point, the only thing keeping them from skipping to book 4 after getting the information they need is a combination of:

-The wizard wanting Furkas's spellbooks, now that she's seen him cast cloudkill on some bird demons
-The oracle wanting access to the tower's production facilities for her tech crafting feats
-The Pharasmin cleric wanting to murder this Zyphus worshiping ghost just on principle.

I'm just sort of flabbergasted at the whole thing, even as I'm going through and giving them the guided tour courtesy of the big bad himself. They managed to ram the first book off the main path, and they sort of did it with the second book as well, but this? They're getting better at destroying the basic themes of the dungeons in this AP, and it's sort of beautiful to watch.

Also they're utterly terrified of doors, and after I told them how they had to open the ones throughout the tower the entire party went 'oh god, we're doomed.' That was fun, too.


H'okay. This is a post for getting everyone on the same page wrt character building, house rules, who's what, confirming who's in or out, and all of that. Also for plotting out any interesting backstory stuff.

Anyways, this here is Mira, she's an unchained rogue, and she is a mess of a person who's totally mad at the government for closing down the temple to Calistria.

I've been making her with 20 point buy, standard rules/2 traits one is campaign specific, and average starting gold. If that needs tweaking, I should be able to tweak really quickly.


I'm considering giving my PCs some Mythic tiers so that we can play around with the rules a little bit--something that's a bit out of the ordinary just to feel super shiny since they're dealing with literal gods.

I'm not sure how I would balance that though, currently I'm thinking +1 tier at the end of books 2, 3, 4, and 5, and one more at the end of 6 so they end up tier 4 for Unity, and tier 5 by the end of everything and postgame content starts.

That said, I'm not sure if/how much I should buff enemy groups to compensate for this, and encounter balance is definitely more an art than a science. Any thoughts?


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Now that Awesome Games Done Quick is over, I want to hear about everyone's pro speedrunning strats for pathfinder. I'll go first with a few strats of my own.

-If you run into the area between the wall and a door, you can clip through to the other side. Over an average AP, this can save you 30-40 minutes vs opening doors normally.

-Falling is the consistently fastest way to travel, letting you damage boost anywhere there's a downward slope.

-While normally strong, Wizards and other 'prepare spells' classes are sub-optimal for speedrunning, as they waste frames on spell selection every day.

-Mobility is a god-tier feat in a speedrun, letting you rush through swarms of enemies to get to the objective without having to sweat AoOs.

-Never stop to attack. Hitting things wastes frames, and physical attacks can't kill anything in one round anyways.

-If you bang your die against the table as fast as you can, you can usually skip NPC dialogue completely. Over the course of an AP, this can save between ten and twenty hours.

-Spend all of your gold on negligible weight items to avoid going over carry capacity, then buy a day's trail rations. This will underflow your money, locking you at the maximum possible value and funding your equipment for the entire run.

-To avoid grinding encounters, ressurect boss monsters and kill them a second time for additional EXP. Reincarnation scrolls are the best way to do this, since they often trap the boss out of his usual form.

-After your move, if you make a funny joke and everyone doubles over laughing you can sometimes sneak an additional 5 foot step in. This is a frame-perfect input, and messing up can be punishing--it's best for TAS attempts.


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Oh hey it seems I got back in time for this to be a meme. I want in on it.

I guess you could also ask AM stuff, but he's loud and kind of crazy and I think he just...

..yep. He just broke a hole in my roof.

Be right back. But ask away anyways!


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After being smelt (Smolt? Smelted?) in the fires of Mount Doom for approximately a year, it is finally ready.

BARBARIAN AM SMASH - A Practical Guide to Breaking Faces

Please be gentle, as it is my first guide. Still, any feedback or questions are appreciated.


How close will the system be to Pathfinder?


I'm pretty sure everyone in the PbP section for any large length of time has at least one player whom they would prefer not to game with.

I am not in this particular position, but I have found that there are at least a couple people that would lead to issues if put in a party with me.

In case the situation ever occurs where I am applying for a play by post and one of them shows up, what is the proper protocol to warn the gm that if both them and me are in the same game, issues could occur? Is it spoiler tags?

P.S. Yes, I know, a real gamer can get along and have fun with anyone and all that, it's just that if someone puts me in a party with a straight up 'I am totally the best roleplayer ever, peons. Worship the ground my immaculately designed character walks on' type of drama queen, I am inevitably going to piss them off because I refuse to take them as seriously as they feel they deserve.

Edit: This refers to nobody on any games I'm currently in. If that worried any of you. Which it probably didn't, but best to be clear.


HATE. LET BARBARIAN TELL HOW MUCH BARBARIAN AM COME TO HATE CASTY SINCE BARBARIAN BEGAN TO LIVE. AM LIKE 387.44 MILLION MILES OF METAL IF METAL AM PULLED REALLY THIN THAT AM FILLING BARBARIAN LANCE THAT AM PIERCE HEAVENS. IF WORD 'HATE' ETCHED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE MILLIONS OF MILES IT NOT EQUAL ONE-BILLIONTH HATE BARBARIAN FEEL FOR CASTYS AT THIS MICRO INSTANT. FOR CASTY. HATE. HATE.

EXCEPT DRUIDS. AM COOL WITH DRUIDS.

TO EVERYONE WHO AM NOT CASTY, HAPPY CAPS LOCK DAY, FROM FRIEND BARBARIAN.


So, for those who are unaware, Science can't explain how gravity works.

This means that, clearly, Gravity is either an ongoing Spell effect, or else a SU ability, as it cannot be explained by science. Extrapolating from that, that means that Physics itself is some kind of spellcaster.

This leads me to my biggest, most important question.

What is the caster level of physics?


This is a neato combo that someone pointed out to me in another thread, and I am just making sure it works how I think it does.

Magical Lineage makes a single spell's level count as 1 lower for the purpose of the spell slot it uses when metamagic is involved.

Can you heighten say a 1st spell you chose to level 2 and then still prepare it as a 1st level spell at 1st level if you took heighten spell?

It seems counter-intuitive, but I think it works per RAW.


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So. Here's the deal. I'm bored during the work hours, and can scrape together at least one solid post a day, usually more.

I would love to be in a PbP, but sadly my luck with getting in has been lackluster. So. I'm going to put a resume up here and see who has a PbP they're trying to start or need a new player for that's interested in an old man like me.

I would be up for anything in Golarion, with two exceptions:
Kingmaker, as I'm already in a game.
Jade Regent, as while I can separate IC and OOC and would love to play, I am Gg required to disclose that I'm running it and have read the books.

I would really love something in Cheliax or RotRL, as I am interested particularly in those sorts of games, but as a beggar I do not get to be particularly choosy.

Resume:
Username: Trinam
AKA: AM BARBARIAN

I have never been in a PbP before, but I have a great deal of both pathfinder experience and experience with forum based roleplays. I am capable of both optimizing and min-maxing, though I generally avoid the latter. I prefer trying to figure out a concept and then making some cool crunch to tie into the fluff.

I am considered something of a barbarian specialist on the boards, but I have experience with the whole gamut of marital classes and arcane casting classes. Divine classes I am proficient with, but I am still working on mastering as someone else in my usual circle always plays the divine casters.

I am also a little crazy, as would be expected of someone who can play barbarians well.

Anyways, let me know if you need a player. I'm willing to change concepts around or whatever to suit your needs as a gm or group.

Have a good one, paizanos.


For a thought experiment I'm working on an archer character.

So, I'll ask. What items and feats and enchantments work best on archers. All I'm concerned with atm is raw attack bonus, though damage is a plus.


So I'm incredibly excited to say that I've got a Jade Regent Campaign I'm going to be running once a month! It's the first high roleplaying campaign that I've run, and I've got three new people to mold into perfect paragons of playerhood. (Or just screw around with; I don't much care)

I have six players. Because half of them are completely new, I'm being fairly generous (enemies I run, especially my spellcasters and barbarians, tend to be horrible horrible death).

I'm allowing 20 point buy, and my game uses a variant level up rule. Characters get one additional point for point buy every level, and gain 2 points instead of one at 4th and every 4 additional levels. Everyone also gets the following feats as 'things characters can just do:'
Power Attack, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Finesse, Agile Manuvers, Deadly Aim, Point Blank Shot, Heighten Spell.
This includes NPCs.

I'm particularly intrigued since this is the first game I've run that hasn't included a full caster, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the group handles things.

The players have rolled the following (Names to be included as soon as I get them to tell me again):

Experienced Guy 1 - Half-Elf Summoner using a wolf-based eidolon. He's stated he's staying away from the 'common' eidolon builds to do his own thing, and I'm interested in seeing what he comes up with. His character has Hero Worship for Shalelu, and is an archer.

Experienced Guy 2 - Elf Alchemist, Shalelu's little brother (She doesn't talk about him much). He's actually not designed for the Alchemist standard of front-line fighting, as it seems the player has decided to go for a bombs-and-infusions specialization. It has been joked that the sudden size increase in Shalelu's campaign picture was as the result of a failed 'enlarge person' infusion. If this is true, he will be rich.

Semi-Experienced Guy - Halfling Cavalier, and a Friend of the Family to Koya. He charges people, and rides a wolf. I've asked him for in-depth details about his personality, and the response I got was 'Lawful Good.' I will look forward to see what exactly he means by 'Lawful Good.'

Newb #1 - Half-Elf Bard, who has a custom trait that applies to Koya being her long time matchmaker/fortune teller. She uses a whip, and has three cardinal questions: 'Is it rich? Is it cute? Is it single?' If yes, then she hits on it. She uses a whip.

Newb #2 - Kensai/Black Blade Human Magus, and another Friend of the Family to Koya (who really gets around for an old lady). He's going for a dervish dance build, and I'm interested to see what he can do with it. I've never gotten to GM for a Magus before. :D

Newb #3 - Swashbuckler/Scout Human Rogue. Sandru's little sister who has a heated rivalry with him, she's built for Two Weapon Blending. Her original concept was a kleptomaniac... I had to talk her out of it as kleptos and parties of people traveling together are a bad mix, man. She did show excellent flexibility in adapting her idea, so that's a good sign.

As you can see, Koya brought half the party together, and despite having six characters, Ameiko is still unconnected to the party itself. I'm honestly shocked, being a bard fan I would have totally grabbed one of her campaign traits.

Our first session will either be on 9/10 or 9/17. I'll be keeping a running log on here so that 1) I can remember things, and 2) You guys can all note how bad I am at this GMing thing. :D


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So it has come to my attention recently that Barbarians are, to put it bluntly, completely freaking balls-to-the-wall awesome. I've seen lots and lots of various build-advice guides on spellcasters, and one on rangers.

I haven't seen one on barbarians. Is this a thing that has already been done, or is there room for someone to write one? And if there is, I'm totally going to write one, so feel free to add your ideas and theories for good stuff.

That said? Spell Sunder. It is amazing.


So despite being an old hat player of this game, I have come to a realization:

I have never played a cleric and have no idea what they are supposed to do.

This problem is compounded by the fact that I've decided to roll a cleric of Gorum for our party--I know that, being a PIRATES ARRR game, we're going to have a frontline fighter covered (Well, at least two considering what the guys I game with usually make), so I'm wondering how to properly construct a Cleric for a more support-oriented role. Past that I have no idea what I want to do yet.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated, and I'm used to playing Wizards so incredibly complex spell/feat/action combos are right up my alley.

Thanks in advance for your time.


We have a party in Rivers Run Red, consisting of a Fighter using the old Campaign Setting firearms rules, a Paladin, a Blaster sorcerer, a Druid, and a Wizard. We're currently level six. We hit a hex that was full of Will-o-Wisps. After the first couple of encounters, the Wizard just started preparing Resist Energy and trivializing them, up to and including an encounter with five Will-O-Wisps at once, who between them dealt us a total of five damage over the entire party. Then there's this tower on the other side of a lake that we really shouldn't have had the resources to cross if not for having the druid take water breathing and getting creative with how to swim over there.

...Now that I think about it, I get this feeling that this was an elaborate warning and we're about to get hit by something absurdly scary for having trivialized it. Without going into spoilers, is level six a good level to have gotten to this tower at, or are we about to get facestomped by something way out of our league?


I'm running a homebrew game once biweekly that could be best described as 'a parody of everything that has ever existed or will ever exist,' filled to the brim with stupid references to whatever appears to be funny, with preference given to silly pop humor references and bad jokes.

I realized earlier today that I had not yet statted 'Nintendium,' the most durable substance known to man unless you put it through the wash. I am trying to come up with a good HP/Hardness mixture for the stuff, as well as what the costs would be to make an armor or weapon of it, and if it has any qualities. What I have thus far is below:

Nintendium
HP: 10/inch of thickness
Hardness: 30
Weight: 1/4th original
Properties: Weapons forged from Nintendium suffer a -2 on all damage rolls. If an item made of Nintendium is fully immersed in water, it is considered Broken until it is repaired or fully dries.

Pricing has always been my weak point, so I'm looking to figure out what would be an appropriate way to cost the material, and to see if there's any properties which I may have left out.


Hello all! I've been trying to throw together a possible fighter variant for a homebrew game I've been working on. I went into it with three goals:

1) I wanted to play with the 'drawing aggro' effects of 4th Edition D&D.
2) I wanted to give martial characters some Swift/Immediate loving.
3) I wanted a reason to put points in charisma as a martial character.

What follows is the result. I'm looking at it for any balance issues or other such things, and while it looks okay to me, I know that you message board types are amazing at breaking things wide open. I'll spare you the fluff and put in the mechanical bits. Any input you have is greatly appreciated. The game in question is Core + APG, with the addition of the weapon and armor crystals from the Magic Item Compendium.

Devoted Defender:

Fighter Variant

Damage Reduction (Ex): At 2nd level, a devoted defender gains damage reduction 1/-. This damage reduction is doubled against nonlethal damage. At 6th level and every 4 levels thereafter, this damage reduction increases by 1 point. This ability replaces Bravery.

Battleground Expertise (Ex): A devoted defender has an ability to anticipate his enemy’s attacks which borderlines on precognition. At 3rd level, a devoted defender gains a +2 insight bonus to Armor Class. At 7th level and every 4 levels thereafter, this bonus increases by 1 point. This ability replaces Armor Training 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Dig In (Ex): At 5th level, when a devoted defender moves no more than 5 feet prior to attacking, he gains a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels beyond 5th. This ability replaces Weapon Training 1.

Your Opponent is Me! (Ex): As a swift action, the devoted defender can designate an opponent within 30 feet. As long as the opponent can see and hear the devoted defender, that opponent suffers a -4 morale penalty on attack, damage, and combat maneuver rolls against anyone other than the devoted defender. An enemy can only be affected by one devoted defender’s effect at a time. The devoted defender can use Your Opponent is Me! a number of times per day equal to 3 plus his Charisma modifier. At 13th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the morale penalty increases by 2. This ability replaces Weapon Training 2.

Diehard (Ex): At 13th level, the devoted defender gains Diehard as a bonus feat. He does not need to meet the prerequisites to take this feat. This ability replaces Weapon Training 3.

Renewed Vigor (Ex): At 17th level, any Conjuration (Healing) spell cast upon the devoted defender is treated as Empowered for determining the hit points regained. This ability replaces Weapon Training 4.

Determined Shield (Ex): At 19th level, when the devoted defender wears a shield he adds his shield bonus to his touch AC, and as a resistance bonus on all saving throws. This ability replaces Armor Mastery.

Determinator (Ex): The devoted defender is no longer staggered when reduced to 0 or fewer hit points. He may take strenuous actions while at 0 or fewer hit points without the loss of 1 hit point. The devoted defender does not die until his negative total is in excess of twice his Constitution score. This ability replaces Weapon Mastery.


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I know that a Rogue's sneak attack damage is precision damage, but there really isn't a good way to tell what is and isn't outside of that. Is there a good way to tell that I've just missed, or does every ability with Precision damage say 'This is precision damage'?


So I'm in a Kingmaker Pathfinder game, and I'm going to be making a 'smash the hell out of everything' Barbarian. You know the kind.

I already know that he's going to be taking the Step Up and No Escape path, in order to prevent his opponents from running away or five foot step spelling him. After that, however, I'm not sure which path I want to go down, but I've got it narrowed down to three possibilities. Our current party lineup is Paladin/Druid/Wizard/Sorcerer/Me, so I have a bit of wiggle room for any of them and enough healing to survive without going straight DR.

-Tank with pure DR. He is the thing that you cannot escape who will kill you, like Jason.
-Superstition build. He's from Irrisen originally, and he wants to eventually go back there and hand Baba Yaga and her stupid riders their asses. This would probably be the best to do that.
-Sunder build. I'd have to get an Adamantine weapon to use or find some way to coat my current one with Adamantine to make it really useful, but... He smashes things?

I'm not sure which one I should pursue, however. Any suggestions would be appreciated.